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Saga
This is rated worse, just in case. This story is written by Gingerear This story has been put on hiatus until further notice. Allegiances LaurelClan Leader: Moonstar -''' long-haired silvery-white she-cat with dark blue eyes 'Deputy: Brownleaf -' big brown tabby she-cat with dark amber eyes 'Medicine Cat: Muddyclaw -' small brown tabby tom with a white underbelly and yellow eyes ''apprentice, Nightspirit'' 'Warriors: Redstripe -' dark ginger tabby tom with green eyes and white paws 'Paleflower -' lithe, slender pale brown tabby she-cat ''apprentice, Bumblepaw'' 'Rainpelt -' long-haired light gray she-cat with dark blue eyes, pregnant 'Fishnose -' pale silver tabby tom with amber eyes 'Smokewhisker -' smoky gray tom with golden eyes 'Shellspots -' long-haired pale orange and black tortieshell she-cat 'Thorntooth -' ginger tabby tom with dark green eyes ''apprentice, Peachpaw'' 'Apprentices: Nightspirit -' slender pure black she-cat with pale golden eyes 'Peachpaw -' orange tabby she-cat with unusual white eyes 'Bumblepaw -' golden brown tom with black stripes 'Queens: Ashtail -' pale, smoky silver she-cat with yellow-green eyes, mother of: Grasskit(light brown she-kit with barely visible tabby stripes) 'Elders: Ice-eyes -' black she-cat with ice-blue eyes 'Otterfoot -' big brown tabby tom, turning silver with age '''Author's Note: I did not create Muddyclaw - I borrowed him from the rules for the warriors roleplaying game on the official site. I also borrowed Thorntooth's name from The Secrets of the Clans field guide. Rainpelt's name was generated with the "What is Your Warrior Name" feature on the official website. I came up with Moonstar after reading on the Warriors Wiki that the Erin Hunters were originally going to name Bluestar Moonstar. I created the rest of the characters and the Clan name. Introduction Ages ago, mountains fell from the sky and exploded in a roar of thunder and a blaze of inferno. Great mushroom-shaped clouds billowed out of the massive holes the mountains left - and the clouds were even more poisonous than mushrooms. Almost all life perished. One of the survivors, a she-cat called Laurel, survived. She created and led a small group of surviving cats to a place where life still flourished. Their descendants are still fighting the war for survival... Prologue "Muddyclaw," a tom meowed. A young brown tabby tom, who had been sleeping in his nest contentedly, lifted his head up, yawned, and blinked. "What?" the tabby asked as his vision cleared. Then he realized who the cat was. "Auburnfur!" he yowled in shock. The long-haired red-brown tom's amber eyes glared incredulously at the tabby. Then Auburnfur meowed, "I come with a message from StarClan, my former apprentice. There are dark times ahead." "Dark times ahead?" Muddyclaw echoed. "I thought the plague was bad enough!" LaurelClan had recently suffered through a brutual plague which had sent half the Clan to join their ancestors. The Clan would have completely died off if it had not been for Nightspirit, Muddyclaw's apprentice. She discovered a cure for the deadly disease, which was the reason Muddyclaw named her Nightspirit. The plague had stopped ravaging LaurelClan less than a moon ago, though, and the Clan was still recovering emotionally - no one had lived through the plague without losing a loved one. "This is worse," the red-brown tom replied gravely. Muddyclaw stared at the glowing StarClan warrior in shock. "Worse?" the dumbfounded young tabby repeated. Auburnfur closed his eyes and nodded. The former medicine cat opened his mouth to speak, but then he closed it again and slowly turned his head to look behind him. Muddyclaw was about to ask the red-brown cat what was wrong, but then felt it; a cold sensation lanced down his spine, but it hurt like a claw scratch. Auburnfur turned back to Muddyclaw. The StarClan tom's bright amber eyes had stretched wide in horror. "WAKE UP!" Auburnfur shrieked. Muddyclaw jolted awake. He stood up, stretched, and padded outside. The brown tabby sat in front of the enterance to his den and looked up at the stars. What's happening, StarClan? he asked silently. Did you actually try to speak to me tonight? And if so, what happened? Chapter 1 A large, silvery moon watched the three cats below as it sat in the dark, cloud-spattered sky. The trio was traveling towards the sand dunes at the edge of their territory. The leader, and the eldest of the three cats, Moonstar, eyed the black clouds warily. The clouds were storm clouds, and they were coalescing into one gigantic mass that had the potential to ravage the forest below. Moonstar, naturally, was worried a about how the coming storm would affect the territory of the precious Clan that she led. But Moonstar also worried about StarClan - StarClan's displeasure, that is. She feared that StarClan felt anger towards her Clan for some reason - why else would clouds cover the sky? But the clouds had not touched the moon, so the silvery-white she-cat decided that she should try to speak with StarClan that night. Besides, the warrior code mandated that the Clan leader and the medicine cat had to communicate with StarClan on the night of the full moon. If the warriors' ancestors were indeed angry, then breaking the warrior code and ignoring them would not help mend the situation. Muddyclaw and Nightspirit followed Moonstar to the High Dune, the largest sand dune on the edge of LaurelClan's territory, and the place where LaurelClan's leaders and medicine cats spoke with StarClan. The white she-cat paused when she reached the top of the High Dune. She watched the choppy waves with her dark blue eyes for a moment. Moonstar wondered if the rough waves and the storm clouds were ill omens. But the leader of LaurelClan had no time to think of such things; she needed to speak with her ancestors. So she closed her eyes, curled up on the ground, and drifted off to sleep. Moonstar awoke into a dream. The she-cat rose to her paws and looked around. Muddyclaw was there, and the black-furred Nightspirit. All of there bodies lay on the ground. But there was one thing missing: StarClan. "Where are they?" Moonstar demanded, scanning the area around them. "I haven't the slightest idea," Nightspirit answered. The long-bodied black she-cat's voice remained level, but she was obviously agitated: her fur bristled, and her pale golden eyes darted around, searching for the shimmering warriors. "Muddyclaw?" Moonstar prompted. "I-I have n-no idea," the young brown tabby stammered. "Auburnfur never mentioned anything like this happening in all of LaurelClan's history." Moonstar looked up at the sky. The clouds smothered the moon's light. "Perhaps we should leave," the leader murmured. Suddenly, white lightning fell from the black sky and struck a tree, setting it on fire. The newborn blaze billowed up towards the sky and spread to the neighboring trees while the storm rumbled in pleasure. The three dreaming cats on top of the High Dune froze in shock, unable to think or move. "We need to wake up!" Nightspirit yowled. "We have to help the others!" "Maybe this isn't real," Muddyclaw pointed out. "Maybe this is just part of the dream." Moonstar knew that Muddyclaw was only trying to reassure himself and his Clanmates. "You know as well as I do that this probably is not just part of our dreams," Moonstar meowed. "Come on - we need warn our Clan." Chapter 2 Grasskit awoke to a loud BOOM. The light brown she-kit jumped straight up into the air and fell back down into her soft, mossy nest. Then the kit ran to Ashtail and kneaded the silver-furred she-cat's belly to get her attention. "Mommy, Mommy, what was that?" Grasskit squealed. The smoky silver queen lifted her head up and looked at her daughter. "That was thunder," Ashtail replied. "It happens during storms." "What causes it?" Grasskit asked. "I don't know, dear," her mother answered. "It just happens. It never hurts anyone." "Are you sure?" the kit mewed. "I'm sure," Ashtail reassured the brown she-kit. "Here - I'll show you." The silver-pelted queen stood up, stretched, and walked outside. She looked over her shoulder and said, "Come on." Grasskit rushed outside of the nursery and looked around. The camp was still intact, much to her relief. "You were right," she told her mother. "Well, I've lived longer than you have, and I've seen more than you have, so I'm more likely to be right," Ashtail meowed. While the smoky she-cat spoke, Grasskit spotted something strange. "What's that amberish glow, Mommy?" Grasskit asked. The kit flicked her tail in the direction of the light that silhouetted the trees in the forest that surrounded LaurelClan's camp. Ashtail turned her gaze to where her kit was looking. The queen's yellow-green eyes grew wide, her fur stood on end. "Mommy?" Grasskit prompted. "What is it?" "It had better not be what I think it is," Ashtail responded. The queen walked over to the large bush on the other side of the camp. Then she poked her head into the bush, which was the warriors' den. "Brownleaf?" the silver she-cat called. The normally sturdy queen was trembling. Grasskit heard groans coming from the den. "Sister, it's the middle of the night!" Smokewhisker snapped. Technically, Ashtail and Smokewhisker were half-siblings, but they thought of each other as brother and sister. "What's going on?" Grasskit heard someone behind her query. The light brown she-kit spun around. Fishnose, the tom who Brownleaf had appointed to stand guard over the camp that night, stood face to face with his granddaughter. "What's that?" she-kit asked the pale silver tabby, flicking her tail in the direction of the orange glow, which had grown brighter. Fishnose looked to where the brown she-kit was indicating. His eyes grew wide as well. "FIRE!" he yowled. "What?" Brownleaf, the deputy of LaurelClan, meowed from the warriors' den. The big, hard-muscled brown tabby she-cat burst out of the dark green bush. She looked up at the sky and saw the glow - and smoke billowing up. She turned back to the warriors' den. "Everyone get out! The forest is on fire!" the she-cat ordered. Grasskit saw Ice-eyes, the oldest she-cat in LaurelClan, peek her black head up out of the burrow that was the elders' den. "What in the name of StarClan - " the she-cat began to say. Then she saw the fire. Ice-eyes disappeared for a moment. "Otterfoot, get up before we burn to death!" Grasskit heard the elderly she-cat snap to the other elder. Suddenly, the light-colored she-kit was lifted off the ground by the scruff of her neck. "Sorry," Fishnose mumbled. "Mommy, what's happening?" Grasskit squealed. Ashtail bounded over to her daughter and her father. "We're evacuating," the queen replied just before she took her kit from Fishnose. "You said thunder never hurts anyone," the she-kit protested. "It was the lightning that started the fire, not the thunder," Fishnose explained. "Will we come back?" Grasskit asked. "I don't know," her mother replied as she carried her kit over to the other members of the Clan. Fishnose walked beside them. "What about Moonstar, Muddyclaw, and Nightspirit?" Rainpelt wailed. The light gray she-cat was very worried, and for good reasons - LaurelClan would have trouble functioning without its leader and medicine cats, and Moonstar was Rainpelt's littermate. Brownleaf looked at the pregnant warrior with pity. "We don't have time to go back and look for them," the deputy told the dark-gray streaked she-cat. "We have to get the rest of the Clan to safety. They will have to find us later." "But what if they die?" Rainpelt demanded. "I don't know!" the tabby she-cat caterwauled. "We'll worry about that later. Right now, we have to get out of here. Come on, LaurelClan!" With those words, Brownleaf and her Clanmates raced out of the camp entrance and into the forest. Chapter 3 LaurelClan ran, faster and faster. But the fire closed in from behind. A tortieshell warrior called Shellspots tripped and fell. Brownleaf rushed over to her, picked her up by the scruff, and started dragging her back over to the rest of LaurelClan. At that moment, they were scaling the steep hills that served as the border between LaurelClan's territory and The Unknown. "LaurelClan!" a she-cat yowled. The Clan paused and looked behind them. Muddyclaw and Nightspirit ran up to them, carrying the limp body of Moonstar between them. "She's lost a life," Nightspirit mumbled, "And we'll all lose our lives if we don't keep moving." The Clan's fear pushed them to run faster, and they soon outpaced the flames and reached the hilltops. The fire did not advance beyond the bottom of the hills, fortunately. Rainpelt raced over to her sister, her kit-heavy belly swinging back and forth. "Don't strain yourself," Nightspirit ordered as she leaned over the pale, soot-stained body of Moonstar. "I want to see my sister," Rainpelt hissed, her gray fur fluffing up. "LaurelClan! Gather around for a Clan meeting!" Brownleaf caterwauled above the crackling of the flames. Rainpelt spun around to face the brown tabby. "You're not the leader yet!" the light gray she-cat hissed. "Moonstar is the one who calls the Clan meetings, not you!" Brownleaf's sister, a slender pale brown tabby she-cat who had been aptly named Paleflower, quietly stepped out of the crowd and pressed herself against Rainpelt's dark-gray-streaked flank. The tabby licked the heavily pregnant queen between the ears to comfort her. "You know Moonstar would have wanted Brownleaf to take charge now," Paleflower murmured in her naturally quiet voice. "She would not want the Clan to be without a strong leader at a time like this." "She'll wake up soon," Rainpelt protested, her voice and body trembling, her belly jiggling as she spoke. Her unborn kits started kicking around, wondering what was happening. The gray she-cat looked down towards her belly. "Lie down," Paleflower whispered. "Rest." Rainpelt followed her friends orders and sank to the ground, panting. Paleflower sat beside her. "Cats of LaurelClan," Brownleaf began, "as you can see, our home has been destroyed." "Did you need to state the obvious?" Ice-eyes snapped from the back of the crowd. The black-furred elder had a reputation for having a sharp tongue and a cranky disposition. Seeing the home she had lived in for so many moons destroyed certainly did not ease her temper. Brownleaf decided to ignore the old she-cat. Ice-eyes usually won her arguments, and Brownleaf did not have time to argue. "The fire is not coming up the hills for the moment, so we will rest for now. I will stay up to watch the fire - and anything else that might choose to attack us. You are welcome to either join me or rest." Most of the cats promptly collapsed onto the ground. Brownleaf walked over to Moonstar's body. Rainpelt lifted her head up. "Shouldn't she have woken up by now?" the gray cat pointed out. "When did she die?" "Shortly after we set out from the High Dune," Muddyclaw replied as he looked down at Moonstar. "I think it was the smoke." Brownleaf sat between Rainpelt and Moonstar. "This isn't her last life," the big brown tabby commented. "We know," Nightspirit meowed. The slender black she-cat looked like an insubstantial shadow against the bright amber blaze of the fire. The five cats remained silent for the next few moments. Then Brownleaf said decisively, "If she doesn't wake up when morning comes, then we'll worry about it." Suddenly, the rain crashed onto the ground with a loud roar of thunder. The blaze sank to the ground, and the fire slowly went out. Chapter 4 Grasskit's eyes fluttered open. She felt cold. The light brown she-kit tried to burrow deeper into her nest - and then she realized she was not in her nest. She was digging her way into cold ash. The little she-kit jolted upwards. Then the memories of what happened the previous night came flooding back into her head; the dam of sleep holding them back had broken. Most of the other cats were sleeping on the old soot. When the mountains fell from the sky, much of the world was burnt, and ash and soot blanketed most of the land now. The occasional bushes or grass poked up out of the ground here and there on this side of the hills, which were better protected from the poison. Grasskit looked over to Moonstar. She lay where Muddyclaw and Nightspirit had placed her body the previous night. Is she dead? Grasskit wondered, her fur bristling in horror at the thought. The she-kit needed to know - she wanted something to be certain, to be safe again. She did not want anyone else in her Clan to die. Her father had joined StarClan during the plague, a half moon after Grasskit was born. The kit did not want anyone else to die.